Lieutenant Thrace has a close relationship with Commander Adama, becuase she was engaged to his youngest son, Zak. She was Zak's flight instructor and she passed on Basic Flight because she was involved with him. She made that admission to Lee Adama during the initial Cylon attacks. Just prior to the Cylon attack, she had landed in the brig in a dust-up with Colonel Saul Tigh. She considers him a drunk and he considers her insubordinate. During the final escape at Ragnar Anchorage, she showed an unbelieveable flying skill when saving Lee and his crippled Viper.

Kara Thrace in Season One:
Kara is sent as sniper in the rescue assault sent to retrieve hostages, including Lee Adama, taken on the Astral Queen. After a hanger deck accident kills and wounds several pilots, Galactica is forced to recruit new pilots (nuggets). Commander Adama orders her to serve as flight instructor. The guilt over passing Zak causes her to wash out all the nuggets on their first day. This ends up resulting in Kara's admission to Commander Adama about her passing Zak when she should not have. He orders her to reinstate the nuggets. While on a training mission, a Cylon Raider patrol attacks. Kara orders the nuggets back to the Galactica, but Hot Dog refuses to leave her wing. Nonetheless, her Viper is damaged in the fight and she is forced to crash on a harsh moon. She is able to escape when she finds a Cylon Raider and figures out how to fly it.

Once back on Galactica, Kara is grounded from flying missions because of a knee injury. The injury gets her down and even Colonel Tigh comes around to encourage her to get back on her feet. When a Leoben Conoy humanoid Cylon copy is found hiding in the fleet, Kara is put in charge of his interrogation to discover the location of a bomb he claims to have planted. The interrogation does touch a nerve with Kara in a childhood indoctrination in religion that Kara has mostly buried but begins to now come to the fore. Still grounded, she is brought in by Commander Adama to assist in tactical planning of the attack on the Cylon Mining Base.

Kara and Lee Adama
are put in charge of security at the meeting of the Quorum of Twelve on the luxury liner, the Cloud Nine. After an excessive celebration of Colonial Day, Kara and Gaius Baltar hook up. Their tryst is interrupted when she calls out Lee's name. Following the discovery of Kobol, Kara is asked by President Roslin to take the captured Cylon Raider and jump back to Caprica to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo. Kara then goes to Commander Adama and asks him about the location of Earth. His answer convinces her that he has lied and she decides to disobey orders and take th Cylon Raider. She returns to Caprica where she goes to the museum where she is attacked by a Six copy. She defeats Six and then meets up with Helo, who has arrived with his pregnant Boomer. Kara attempts to shoot her but Helo stops her.